Osseointegration is a term that usually comes up several times when we give our patients in Turlock a consultation for a dental implant. It’s one of the key processes in a dental implant procedure that makes it such an effective way to preserve healthy tooth spacing, jawbone health, and structural integrity in the mouth.
In this post, we’ll describe how osseointegration works, and how it helps make a dental implant procedure successful if you’re replacing a missing tooth.
What Is Osseointegration?
To put it very simply, osseointegration is when your bone heals and fuses with special medical materials. Not just any material can be used for osteointegration. Dental implant posts, for example, are made of titanium because titanium is known for being biocompatible with human bone. In fact, titanium is used in many types of reconstructive surgeries for that very reason.
The entire process for osseointegration to occur during a dental implant procedure usually takes about 3-6 months. Most dental implant procedures begin with an assessment of healthy jawbone structure near the missing tooth space. This is to determine whether a bone graft may be needed. Once it’s certain there’s enough healthy jawbone foundation, a location for the post is mapped and the post is initially placed.
After the post is placed, the body does its thing and starts the healing process. This usually starts off as some inflammation around the surgical site, while below the surface a whole bunch of connective tissues and new, healthy bone begins to form around the dental implant post. When the whole osseointegration process is complete and the permanent implant crown is placed, it will support jawbone health by causing the body to adapt to chewing forces just like a live, healthy tooth would.
Why Is Osseointegration So Important for Dental Implants?
One of the top reasons dental implants are a great for your oral health is because integrating the implant post into your jawbone allows it to provide the same type of stimulation a natural tooth would provide. This helps keep teeth from shifting to fill in missing tooth space, both near the tooth and teeth opposite of the missing tooth space.
The longer you go with missing tooth space, the more likely you are to also experience jawbone resorption, which is where old bone is naturally removed, and new bone doesn’t regrow in its place. This can lead to chewing difficulties, speech issues, and a droopy facial appearance.
Contact Us if You Have Questions About Dental Implants
Thanks for reading our blog post! If you have questions about dental implants, please make an appointment at our Turlock dental practice.
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